Reader discussion: Small World

Public reader discussion about Small World in the WeRead Catalog by William F. Nolan.

Book Club Reccs (40ish women, big readers of literary fiction)

By hawkWandering8606

Our book club basically went on pause starting back in March 2020. Now we’re talking about getting together again in April—at first we were excited by the new Claire Messud, but then we noticed it’s not actually out until May. We usually end up loving Evelyn Waugh and Sally Rooney (obviously). It doesn’t have to be a woman writer though. We’re into literary fiction, but honestly good sci-fi works too. We want to pick something that’ll really impress everyone, so we don’t end up waiting another four years to meet again.

Thought "White Noise" by Don Dellilo was average. What am I missing?

By DustyValley

I’ve been trying to get into more modern, current writers, and DeLillo kept coming up, so I finally read *White Noise*. Honestly, I’m a bit let down. It had some funny moments, but I don’t think I ever laughed out loud, and even though the whole death/fear/consumerism stuff was interesting and went pretty wide, nothing really blew my mind. So I’m wondering—what am I supposed to be getting out of it? If I reread, what should I pay attention to? And have any of you come across articles or breakdowns that made it click for you? (I did enjoy that analysis link I saw elsewhere.)

A look inside Alien Worlds #7. The Small World of Lewis Hamilton by William F. Nolan and Richard Corben, and Ride the Blue Bus by Bruce Jones and George Perez. Cover by Joe Chiodo.

By latte-snowbank1982

I was pretty excited when a copy of this showed up on Canadian eBay last week. It’s basically the whole “either $7 or $27” thing for us Canadians, and I just can’t get myself to pay $27 in shipping for a comic that’s normally like $2–4. Also still waiting for one day to show up for Bold Adventure #2 here—there hasn’t been a single one in the market. That’s the last issue I need to finish up all my PC stuff. So close it hurts. Anyway, it’s got Brent Anderson and Gray Morrow stories too, but I’m not sure I’d say they’re their best. And I swear a lot of the early Baxter Paper work gets messed up by the colorist—like they only know Dr. Martin’s inks from Marvel/DC—so you end up with way too bright, garish colors. The paintings seem to come out way better on Baxter, and that’s why guys like Chiodo, Steacy, Corben, Suydam, Hampton, and Conrad look so much better than a bunch of their contemporaries at PC.

Who are the contemporary giants outside of America?

By cafeDog1995

Honestly, unless someone wins the Nobel or Booker, I feel like I don’t really hear about authors from other countries. So I’m curious—what writers are getting all the attention in their own countries? And what are they actually doing in their books that makes them so popular?

Independent bookstores are multiplying, although many people still think they're dying out

By BlueRaven60

Anyone else have thoughts on this? I thought it was pretty interesting, at least.